Scholarship and Special Interest Programmes (SSIPs)

Scholarship and Special Interest Programmes (SSIPs) give you the opportunity within the busy medical curriculum to concentrate on subjects that particularly interest you. They enable you to broaden and deepen your core learning.

The programme is one of the aspects of the HYMS course that sets it apart from other medical schools. You'll be encouraged to choose subjects that inspire and excite you, and to explore areas that might lead you into a particular career.

Phase I

You will be attached to one of our academic centres in your first year and a different one in your second year, working alongside tutors who are active researchers and experts in their fields.

The programme will equip you with the skills and knowledge that you will need for conducting research projects in later years. It will also prepare you to step out of your medical degree for a year, if you so choose, to complete an intercalated degree.

Phase II

In your third year, you'll choose clinically-related projects to work on at your placement site. One of these projects will develop your experience and skills in assessing and improving the quality of care through participation in an audit or improvement project.

In your fourth year, you'll undertake a single extended project across the year, supported by HYMS faculty. This will focus on a special interest of your choice - perhaps a research project, or perhaps developing teaching or leadership skills. You'll begin to establish distinctive skills and attributes that will be of value as you shape your future career as a doctor.

Phase III

Your final-year elective is also part of the SSIP.

SSIPs are not an optional extra. They are required by the General Medical Council. As well as the opportunity to study widely outside the core curriculum, they help you to acquire and use research skills, develop greater confidence in your own abilities, and undertake small-scale projects.

They also enable you to work with knowledgeable and experienced tutors, passionate about their subjects. They allow you to express yourself, take subjects that are out of your comfort zone, develop your ability to think critically and challenge other people's opinions. And finally, they can help you develop a particular area of interest which you may choose to develop as part of an intercalated degree.